Dye tracer and morphophysical properties to observe water flow in a Gleyic Luvisol

The understanding of the preferential water flow and solute transport is important with regard to losses of nutrients and pesticides that affect the quality of the groundwater or surface water resources. Experiments using the brilliant blue dye tracer, a tension infiltrometer (TI) and a double square infiltrometer (DI) were carried out in the experimental field site located around 15 km southeast of the city of Rostock (North-Eastern Germany) on arable land in a Pleistocene lowland landscape where corn (Zea mays L.) and barley (Hordeum spp.) had been cultivated. One day after dye the infiltration, a pit was dug and vertical profiles were prepared in the TI and DI sites to assess the dye pathways in the subsoil of a Gleyic Luvisol. We wanted to examine if the mottled red and white (bleached) colour-pattern of the Gleyic Luvisol subsoil resulting from temporally stagnant water could be related to flow paths as visualized by dye tracing and if the soil colour could be related to other physical soil properties. Biogenic soil structures were the main transport routes conducting water and solutes into great depth in short time. These pathways had lower bulk density and less cone resistance than the adjacent red or white (bleached) areas of the Gleyic Luvisol subsoil. The red areas were involved in transport because their water contents increased after as compared to before infiltration. However, the measured physical soil properties did not differ between white and red areas. We assume that red areas participate in transport at least by imbibing water from the adjacent biogenic flow paths.O fluxo preferencial de água e o transporte de solutos relacionam-se com perdas de nutrientes e pesticidas e afetam a qualidade de águas subterrâneas. Foram realizados experimentos utilizando o traçador Brilhante Blue, um infiltrômetro de tensão (TI) e um infiltrômetro com "duplos quadrados" (DI) num campo experimental localizado a cerca de 15 km a sudeste da cidade de Rostock (nordeste da Alemanha) num solo onde cultiva-se milho (Zea mays L.) e cevada (Hordeum spp.). Um dia após a infiltração do traçador, perfis de solo foram escavados no local do TI e do DI para observar o fluxo da água deixado pelo do traçador no solo. O objetivo era verificar se os mosqueados vermelhos e partes esbranquiçadas cor-padrão do subsolo do Gleyic Luvisol, resultante da água estagnada temporariamente, poderia estar relacionada ao fluxo da água visualizados pelo traçador e se a cor do solo poderia estar relacionada a outras propriedades físicas do solo. A estrutura biogênica do solo foi a principal rota de transporte conduzindo água e solutos em profundidade e em menor tempo. Esses caminhos tiveram menor densidade do solo e menor resistência do que as áreas vermelhas e esbranquiçadas adjacentes do subsolo do Gleyic Luvisol. Áreas vermelhas foram relacionadas com o transporte devido apresentarem maior conteúdo de água após o teste de infiltração. Entretanto, não houve diferenças entre as propriedades físicas do solo das áreas brancas e vermelhas. Assumiu-se que as áreas vermelhas participaram do transporte de água porque absorveram água do fluxo adjacente, ou seja, dos bioporos

Fluxo de água em um Gleyic Luvisol usando traçador e sua relação com as propriedades físicas e morfológicas do solo

The understanding of the preferential water flow and solute transport is important with regard to losses of nutrients and pesticides that affect the quality of the groundwater or surface water resources. Experiments using the brilliant blue dye tracer, a tension infiltrometer (TI) and a double square infiltrometer (DI) were carried out in the experimental field site located around 15 km southeast of the city of Rostock (North-Eastern Germany) on arable land in a Pleistocene lowland landscape where corn (Zea mays L.) and barley (Hordeum spp.) had been cultivated. One day after dye the infiltration, a pit was dug and vertical profiles were prepared in the TI and DI sites to assess the dye pathways in the subsoil of a Gleyic Luvisol. We wanted to examine if the mottled red and white (bleached) colour-pattern of the Gleyic Luvisol subsoil resulting from temporally stagnant water could be related to flow paths as visualized by dye tracing and if the soil colour could be related to other physical soil properties. Biogenic soil structures were the main transport routes conducting water and solutes into great depth in short time. These pathways had lower bulk density and less cone resistance than the adjacent red or white (bleached) areas of the Gleyic Luvisol subsoil. The red areas were involved in transport because their water contents increased after as compared to before infiltration. However, the measured physical soil properties did not differ between white and red areas. We assume that red areas participate in transport at least by imbibing water from the adjacent biogenic flow paths.O fluxo preferencial de água e o transporte de solutos relacionam-se com perdas de nutrientes e pesticidas e afetam a qualidade de águas subterrâneas. Foram realizados experimentos utilizando o traçador Brilhante Blue, um infiltrômetro de tensão (TI) e um infiltrômetro com duplos quadrados (DI) num campo experimental localizado a cerca de 15 km a sudeste da cidade de Rostock (nordeste da Alemanha) num solo onde cultiva-se milho (Zea mays L.) e cevada (Hordeum spp.). Um dia após a infiltração do traçador, perfis de solo foram escavados no local do TI e do DI para observar o fluxo da água deixado pelo do traçador no solo. O objetivo era verificar se os mosqueados vermelhos e partes esbranquiçadas cor-padrão do subsolo do Gleyic Luvisol, resultante da água estagnada temporariamente, poderia estar relacionada ao fluxo da água visualizados pelo traçador e se a cor do solo poderia estar relacionada a outras propriedades físicas do solo. A estrutura biogênica do solo foi a principal rota de transporte conduzindo água e solutos em profundidade e em menor tempo. Esses caminhos tiveram menor densidade do solo e menor resistência do que as áreas vermelhas e esbranquiçadas adjacentes do subsolo do Gleyic Luvisol. Áreas vermelhas foram relacionadas com o transporte devido apresentarem maior conteúdo de água após o teste de infiltração. Entretanto, não houve diferenças entre as propriedades físicas do solo das áreas brancas e vermelhas. Assumiu-se que as áreas vermelhas participaram do transporte de água porque absorveram água do fluxo adjacente, ou seja, dos bioporos

AI-based prostate analysis system trained without human supervision to predict patient outcome from tissue samples

In order to plan the best treatment for prostate cancer patients, the aggressiveness of the tumor is graded based on visual assessment of tissue biopsies according to the Gleason scale. Recently, a number of AI models have been developed that can be trained to do this grading as well as human pathologists. But the accuracy of the AI grading will be limited by the accuracy of the subjective “ground truth” Gleason grades used for the training. We have trained an AI to predict patient outcome directly based on image analysis of a large biobank of tissue samples with known outcome without input of any human knowledge about cancer grading. The model has shown similar and in some cases better ability to predict patient outcome on an independent test-set than expert pathologists doing the conventional grading

Hoher Blutdruck: Ein Thema für alle

Alltägliche Faktoren wie Ernährung, Bewegung, Alkoholkonsum oder der Umgang mit Stress wirken lebenslang auf den Blutdruck. Diese Faktoren können sowohl individuell als auch gesellschaftlich mitgestaltet werden. Bei körperlicher Anstrengung oder Aufregung steigt der Blutdruck, ohne dass dies gesundheits­schädlich ist. Wenn der Blutdruck jedoch auch in Ruhe und dauerhaft erhöht ist, wird er eine Belastung für Herz und Gefäße. Die vorliegende Ausgabe von GBE kompakt stellt aktuelle Zahlen und Trends zum Blutdruck in Deutschland vor. Zwei Themen stehen dabei im Fokus: die Verteilung der Blutdruckmesswerte in der Gesamtbevölkerung und die Behandlung der Hypertonie (Bluthochdruck)

Germany’s first COVID-19 deceased: a 59-year-old man presenting with diffuse alveolar damage due to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Clinical characterization of COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) is being performed worldwide to gain insights into the pathogenesis and course of the disease. Little is known regarding morphological findings, which are essential to understanding the unique features and pathomechanisms of the disease, from which one can identify possible new treatments. It has been shown that diffuse alveolar damage, signifying acute respiratory distress syndrome, is present together with atypical multinucleated cells in reported cases of the disease by Tian et al. (J Thorac Oncol 15:700-704, 2020). Macroscopic morphological findings in COVID-19 remain elusive to this day. Here, we report the case of the first German to die due to COVID-19. A detailed examination consisting of full-body computed tomography, autopsy, histology assessment, and viral assessment has been performed. The lungs of the deceased contained high concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and displayed the typical radiological signatures of COVID-19. Furthermore, a morphological pattern was found displaying hyperaemic areas interspersed by normally perfused areas affecting the whole lung. We also report a finding suggestive of micro-thrombotic events in the lung, which is compatible with the recently described coagulation changes and increased incidence of pulmonary artery embolisms seen in COVID-19 patients as reported by Wichmann et al. (Ann Intern Med, 2020). A broader study is needed to confirm these findings

Loss of CDH16 expression is a strong independent predictor for lymph node metastasis in Middle Eastern papillary thyroid cancer

Abstract Papillary Thyroid Cancer (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer. The membrane-associated glycoprotein cadherin-16 (CDH16) plays a significant role in the embryonal development of thyroid follicles and cell adhesion. Previous studies have indicated a substantial downregulation of CDH16 in PTC. However, its role in Middle Eastern PTC has not been elucidated. We analyzed a tissue microarray comprising 1606 PTC and 240 normal thyroid tissues using immunohistochemistry to assess CDH16 expression and determine its clinico-pathological associations. We also conducted BRAF and TERT mutations analyses through Sanger sequencing. Disease-free survival (DFS) was assessed using Kaplan–Meier curves. CDH16 immunostaining was seen in 100% of normal thyroid tissues but only in 9.4% of PTC tissues (p < 0.0001). The loss of CDH16 expression was associated with aggressive PTC characteristics including bilaterality, multifocality, extrathyroidal extension, tall cell variant, lymph node metastasis (LNM) and distant metastasis. Additionally a correlation between loss of CDH16 expression and BRAF and TERT mutations was identified. Intriguingly, upon conducting multivariate logistic regression analysis, CDH16 was determined to be an independent predictor for LNM (Odds ratio = 2.46; 95% confidence interval = 1.60–3.79; p < 0.0001). Furthermore, CDH16 loss was associated with a shorter DFS (p = 0.0015). However, when we further subdivided CDH16 negative patients based on the co-existence of TERT and/or BRAF mutations, we found that patients with both CDH16 negative expression and TERT mutation exhibited the shortest DFS (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, our results suggest that CDH16 protein expression could serve as a valuable diagnostic tool for PTC. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate that the loss of CDH16 expression is an independent predictor of LNM and may contribute to the aggressiveness of PTC. Therefore, downregulation of CDH16 in PTC might be a potential target for designing novel therapeutic strategies to treat PTC

Tumor cell PD-L1 expression is a strong predictor of unfavorable prognosis in immune checkpoint therapy-naive clear cell renal cell cancer

Background!#!PD-L1 expression predicts response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in renal cell carcinomas (RCC), but has also been suggested to be linked to poor patient outcome.!##!Methods!#!We analyzed PD-L1 in &amp;gt; 1400 RCC in a tissue microarray format by immunohistochemistry. Results were compared with histological tumor type, parameters of cancer aggressiveness, and intratumoral CD8!##!Result!#!At a cut-off level of 5% PD-L1 positive tumor cells, PD-L1 positivity was seen in 6.3% of 633 clear cell RCC (ccRCC), 18.2% of 165 papillary RCC, 18.8% of 64 chromophobe RCC, and 41.7% of 103 oncocytomas. In ccRCC, PD-L1 positivity was significantly linked to high ISUP (p &amp;lt; 0.0001), Fuhrman (p &amp;lt; 0.0001), Thoenes grade (p &amp;lt; 0.0001), distant metastasis (p = 0.0042), short recurrence-free (p &amp;lt; 0.0001), and overall survival (p = 0.0002). Intratumoral CD8!##!Conclusions!#!These data suggest that PD-L1 expression in highly immunogenic RCCs facilitates immune evasion and contributes to cancer aggressiveness

Large-Scale Tissue Microarray Evaluation Corroborates High Specificity of High-Level Arginase-1 Immunostaining for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Arginase-1 catalyzes the conversion of arginine to ornithine and urea. Because of its predominant expression in hepatocytes, it serves as a marker for hepatocellular carcinoma, although other tumor entities can also express arginase-1. To comprehensively determine arginase-1 expression in normal and neoplastic tissues, tissue microarrays containing 14,912 samples from 117 different tumor types and 608 samples of 76 different normal tissue types were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. In normal tissues, arginase-1 was expressed in the liver, the granular layer of the epidermis, and in granulocytes. Among tumors, a nuclear and cytoplasmic arginase-1 immunostaining was predominantly observed in hepatocellular carcinoma, where 96% of 49 cancers were at least moderately positive. Although 22 additional tumor categories showed occasional arginase immunostaining, strong staining was exceedingly rare in these entities. Staining of a few tumor cells was observed in squamous cell carcinomas of various sites. Staining typically involved maturing cells with the beginning of keratinization in these tumors and was significantly associated with a low grade in 635 squamous cell carcinomas of various sites (p = 0.003). Teratoma, urothelial carcinoma and pleomorphic adenomas sometimes also showed arginase expression in areas with squamous differentiation. In summary, arginase-1 immunohistochemistry is highly sensitive and specific for hepatocellular carcinoma if weak and focal staining is disregarded

Inhibin Alpha Expression in Human Tumors: A Tissue Microarray Study on 12,212 Tumors

As a result of its expression in corresponding normal cell types, inhibin alpha (INHA) is used as an immunohistochemical marker for adrenocortical neoplasms and testicular or ovarian sex cord stromal tumors. However, other tumors can also express INHA. To comprehensively determine INHA expression in cancer, a tissue microarray containing 15,012 samples from 134 different tumor types and subtypes was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. INHA positivity was found in 72 of 134 tumor categories, including 26 categories with &ge;1 strongly positive case. A moderate to strong INHA positivity was found in 100% of 37 granulosa cell tumors of the ovary, 100% of 43 other sex cord stromal tumors of the ovary/testis, 100% of 31 granular cell tumors, 78.5% of 28 adenomas, 44% of 25 carcinomas of the adrenal cortex, and 46.7% of 15 pancreatic acinar cell carcinomas. At least a weak INHA positivity was seen in &lt;33% of cases of 46 additional tumor entities. In summary, these data support the use of INHA antibodies for detecting sex cord stromal tumors, granular cell tumors, and adrenocortical neoplasms. Since INHA can also be found in other tumor entities, INHA immunohistochemistry should only be considered as a part of any panel for the distinction of tumor entities

Increased Cytoplasmic CD138 Expression Is Associated with Aggressive Characteristics in Prostate Cancer and Is an Independent Predictor for Biochemical Recurrence

Syndecan-1 (CD138) is a transmembrane proteoglycan expressed in various normal and malignant tissues. It is of interest due to a possible prognostic effect in tumors and its role as a target for the antibody-drug conjugate indatuximab ravtansine. Here, we analyzed 17,747 prostate cancers by immunohistochemistry. Membranous and cytoplasmic CD138 staining was separately recorded. In normal prostate glands, CD138 staining was limited to basal cells. In cancers, membranous CD138 positivity was seen in 19.6% and cytoplasmic CD138 staining in 11.2% of 12,851 interpretable cases. A comparison with clinico-pathological features showed that cytoplasmic CD138 staining was more linked to unfavorable tumor features than membranous staining. Cytoplasmic CD138 immunostaining was associated with high tumor stage (p<0.0001), high Gleason grade (p<0.0001), nodal metastases (p<0.0001), positive surgical margin (p<0.0001), and biochemical recurrence (p<0.0001). This also holds true for both V-ets avian erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homolog (ERG) fusion positive and ERG fusion negative tumors although the cytoplasmic CD138 expression was markedly more frequent in ERG positive than in ERG negative tumors (p<0.0001). Comparison with 11 previously analyzed chromosomal deletions identified a conspicuous association between cytoplasmic CD138 expression and 8p deletions (p<0.0001) suggesting a possible functional interaction of CD138 with one or several 8p genes. Multivariate analysis revealed the cytoplasmic CD138 expression as an independent prognostic parameter in all cancers and in the ERG positive subgroup. In summary, our study indicates the cytoplasmic CD138 expression as a strong and independent predictor of poor prognosis in prostate cancer. Immunohistochemical measurement of CD138 protein may thus—perhaps in combination with other parameters—become clinically useful in the future